Video broadcasting standards for digital television, such as the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) specification in the United States and the family of DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) international standards, allow broadcasters to transmit digital content in a variety of resolutions and formats, such as 480p (e.g., 720×480 at 60 frames per second), 1080i (e.g., 1920×1080 at 60 fields per second), or 720p (1280×720 at 60 frames per second). Typically, a broadcasting station will allocate one or more channels for a particular broadcast, where each channel utilizes a single transmission format. For example, a sports station may broadcast a football game in 720p in one channel and in 480p in another channel. Broadcasting stations may prefer to use progressive transmission mode (e.g., 720p) for sports or movies, and interlaced transmission (e.g., 1080i) for regular programming (e.g., news and daytime TV series).
Recently, a number of emerging technologies compete to bring new levels of visual experience to consumers. These technologies include: 3D video, Enhanced Dynamic Range (EDR) video, and enhanced resolution video (e.g., 4K video).
3D video systems garner great interest for enhancing a consumer's experience, whether at the cinema or in the home. These systems use stereoscopic or autostereoscopic methods of presentation, including:                (i) anaglyph—provides left/right eye separation by filtering the light through a two color filter, commonly red for one eye, and cyan for the other eye;        (ii) linear polarization—provides separation at the projector by filtering the left eye through a linear polarizer (commonly) oriented vertically, and filtering the right eye image through a linear polarizer oriented horizontally;        (iii) circular polarization—provides separation at the projector by filtering the left eye image through a (commonly) left handed circular polarizer, and filtering the right eye image through a right handed circular polarizer;        (iv) shutter glasses—provides separation by multiplexing the left and right images in time, and        (v) spectral separation—provides separation at the projector by filtering the left and right eye spectrally where the left and right eye each receives a complementary portion of the red, green, and blue spectrums.        
As used herein, the term dynamic range (DR) is a range of intensity (e.g., luminance, luma) in an image, e.g., from darkest darks to brightest brights. Video broadcasting today is typically characterized by approximately three orders of magnitude of dynamic range (e.g., standard dynamic range, SDR), corresponding to the limited rendering capabilities of conventional televisions and computer monitors. This is a humble presentation for some 14 to 15 orders of magnitude of dynamic range (e.g., high dynamic range, HDR) perceptible to a human visual system (with adaptation), or even the 5 to 6 orders of magnitude simultaneously perceptible (e.g., Enhanced dynamic range, EDR, or Visual dynamic range, VDR)). EDR video content combined with EDR displays will be able to bring new levels of visual experience, independent of screen size.
4K video is the latest in a line of broadcast and media resolutions and is due to replace HD (high definition, 1920×1080 pixels) as the next enhanced resolution signal available for movies and TV. HD itself has been with us for about a decade and is used in Blu-ray movies and HD broadcasts. In general, 4K refers to a resolution of roughly 4000 pixels wide and about 2000 pixels high. Currently 4K is a catch-all term for a number of enhanced resolution standards that are reasonably close to that resolution. For example, the first generation of consumer TVs year labeled 4K will most likely be Quad HD (e.g., 3840×2160).
In order for consumers to discern visual difference of 4K from HD, big screen TVs are required. Currently, the most popular HDTV sizes are between 32 and 46 inches. Such sizes will have difficulty demonstrating the superiority of 4K pictures over traditional HD (e.g., 720p or 1080p) pictures. Televisions supporting Enhanced dynamic range (EDR) will be able to bring a new visual experience which is independent of screen size. The combination of 3D, 4K, and EDR is expected to deliver a new experience to the theaters and the home
Increasing the frame rate, resolution, and dynamic range provides an improved visual experience at the expense of higher bandwidth and storage requirements. For example, a 3D stereoscopic video, with twice the images (e.g., left and right eye perspective images), may already require double the bandwidth and storage over a two-dimensional (2D) video. Similarly EDR video requires pixel resolutions at higher bit depth than the traditional 8-bit bit depth per color component. As appreciated by the inventors here, improved techniques for 3D, EDR, and 4K image processing, given practical bandwidth and storage requirements, are desirable for a superior immersive experience. It is further appreciated that these improved techniques preferably are backwards compatible with legacy HD and SDR systems.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.